Welcome to the fascinating world of terrestrial gastropod mollusks, also known as land snails and slugs.
Snails are unique mollusks with rasping mouthparts, intercrossing dorsal and ventral muscles, and a mantle, the organ that builds a hard shell (though less active in slugs). Malacology - the study of mollusks - has been an integral part of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History since its founding in 1895.
Land Snails by State
Connecticut
Washington D.C.
Delaware
Massachusetts
Maine
Maryland
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Land Snails Image Gallery
View the image gallery of land snails, which includes both shelled snails and shell-less slugs. Visually identify species by state, region, and habitat.
Land Snail Ecology
Land snails are small, widespread animals that live among leaf litter, plants, and wood, which they help break down to make soil. They have a variety of parasites and predators; move energy, protein, and calcium up the "food chain"; and have a great variety of life patterns and behaviors.
Resources
Technical information such as anatomy, terminology, references, and links to more snail sites is found here.
Hotopp, K.P., T.A. Pearce, J.C. Nekola, J. Slapcinsky, D.C. Dourson, M. Winslow, G. Kimber, and B. Watson. 2013. Land Snails and Slugs of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States. Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Online Resource: http://www.carnegiemnh.org/science/mollusks/index.html